Automatically, Post Blog Articles to Facebook and Twitter Using HootSuite

Socializing on Facebook and Twitter is an important facet of socialmarketing. Personal interaction with fans aid in developinglong-lasting relationships while automation tends to feel impersonal.There are times when automation will work well – and leave extra timeavailable for writing noteworthy articles; and you know – more timesocializing. HootSuite provides an ingenious feature that routinelysubmits articles to Facebook and Twitter automatically. This tutorialwill provide steps for connecting an RSS feed to HootSuite, andautomating it with Facebook and Twitter. If you give a Hoot, grab aperch and stick around.Connect Twitter and Facebook

First, you must have Facebook and Twitter connected to HootSuite. If not, read How to Connect Twitter and Facebook to HootSuite.Step 1: Login into HootSuite.

If not already logged in, visit hootsuite.com. The login form is found on the top right.Step 2: Go to RSS/Atom

Once logged in, click on the owl on the top left. The drop-down menu will appear. Go to Settings and then RSS/Atom.Step 3: RSS/Atom

The Settings dashboard for RSS/Atom will appear. Click Add New Feed.When the Settings dashboard appears, for RSS and Atom, click Add New Feed.Step 4: Edit Feed

Then the Edit Feed dashboard will appear. The Edit Feed dashboardhas a few nifty features including the ability to check for new postsevery hour, post multiple tweets at a time, and select multipleprofiles. Review the available options from the Add RSS / Atom Feed dashboard. Step 5: RSS feed…

Most sites have an RSS feed. To find it, look for the RSS feed iconon your site. If your site does not have one, it’s best to contact yourweb developer.Find the RSS feed icon on your website.Step 6: Grab the URL.

After successfully finding the RSS feed copy the web address.Highlight the RSS feed URL, right-click, and then choose copy. Step 7: Add the URL of the RSS feed.

After copying the URL past it in the field for ‘Feed URL’.Add the web address to the Feed URL field.Step 8: Check this feed for new posts every…

Often times there are numerous daily updates to an RSS feed. If setto hour, HootSuite will post to Facebook and Twitter every hour –unless there isn’t anything new. You can change the settings to 24, 12,6, 3, 2 or hourly.Step 9: When new posts are found, tweet up to…

HootSuite can publish a maximum of 5 posts per cycle to Twitter. Itmight be the same for Facebook – but if your settings push 5 postsevery hour than you’re an amazing blogger; or not socializing! Step 10: Include some post text…

This is optional. At times, the title of the article isn’tsufficient enough to give readers an idea what it is about. HootSuitewill add addition text, from the article, to the tweet. In some casesit might make the tweet look cluttered, so use it wisely. Step 11: Prepend text…

Here you are provided the opportunity to add prepared text to eachpost. Before each tweet you could say “New Blog Posts or “News Update”– but be aware that Twitter only has room for 140 characters max. Step 12: Profiles to send from…

Before saving, you must choose at least one profile. The profilesmight be difficult to distinguish between. Look closely for the Twitteror Facebook icon. Click the profile needed and a green checkmark willappear. HootSuite can post to an individual profile or all of them.Step 12. Save

Click Save Feed.Click 'Save Feed' to complete the setup.Finished!

You may now leap from your perch and soar with the eagles. Congratulations!When completed, the feed will appear on the Settings dashboard.How will it appear on Facebook?

Within a short time after publishing an article to your blog,HootSuite will post it to Facebook. A tiny image of an owl will appearbelow the post. In addition, an Owly (ow.ly) web address will appear -which links to the article on your blog.How HootSuite will appear on Facebook.How will it appear on Twitter?

Shortly after HootSuite notices the new article it will appear onTwitter. Below the tweet, in light grey, you will see ‘via HootSuite’.Then you know it was successfully posted from HootSuite.How HootSuite wil appear on Twitter.Conclusion

This concludes our tutorial on using HootSuite to automaticallysubmit posts to Facebook and Twitter. At times, automation can be coldand unfriendly; but in this situation, it’s a win-win for both you andyour fans. Now you can reclaim lost time and build a betterrelationship with the fans that were neglected. Good luck